Summer is a great time to relax with an enjoyable novel, which is what Saint Anythingby Sarah Dessen is.

Like most of Sarah Dessen’s novels, Saint Anything tells the story from a viewpoint of a young girl who is going adolescence. We meet Sydney Stanford, who is at a crossroads because her parents focus all of their attention on her trouble-maker brother Peyton. He has always been the star of the family, and lately, concern, after his wreckless behavior leads to a drunk driving accident that resulted in a jail sentence. Since everyone is worried about Peyton, Sydney is wondering if she’s the the only one who feels guilty about the victim, who was left paralyzed.

Sydney eventually feels she needs a change, so she decides to switch schools and meets the Chathams. They are a kind family who accept her for who she is.

The novel is different from a lot of Sarah Dessen’s other books because the book explores complex relationship dynamics. One of the most interesting things about the book is watching Sydney’s mother struggle with loving her son and the need to take care of him while he is in prison. Another interesting aspect is Sydney’s friendship with Layla. They easily become friends because Layla’s family is going through a similar situation.

Saint Anything is a fun, interesting read, despite some of the dark subject matter.

Thoughts: This book is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Auggie’s story was very powerful. His first year of middle school starts off rocky because of his facial deformities. Kids tease him, bully him, etc. However, he doesn’t let that get in his way, and that’s what I love about him. In this book, the author illustrates the good, the bad and the ugly in humanity. I also liked that we heard from other characters’ perspectives to get their point of the story and see their reasoning behind their actions.

After that, I picked up The Girl With The Dragon Tattooby Stieg Larsson and read 105 pages. I forgot how good this book is, and some of the details about the story are coming back to me.

So far, I’ve read 412 pages during the readathons. Four more days to go!

Day 4

I read another 132 pages of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Not too shabby. I didn’t think I was going to get a whole lot of reading done because of work, but I ended up skipping my exercise. Oh well. Here’s to day 5 and more reading!

Day 5

Today was a good reading day! I read 201 pages of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I managed to fit in a lot of reading time between Big Brothers Big Sisters and work. Not to mention, today was also National Donut Day, and I was reading my book while in line waiting for a free donut at Krispy Kreme.

Day 6

I only read 82 pages of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo today because I had a lot of things going on. I went to Calvin’s funeral. He was a security guard at my workplace, and he passed away last Saturday. Plus, I worked from 4 to midnight.

1. A book that’s been on your TBR shelf over a year!
2. An unread sequel sitting on your TBR shelf.
3. A first book in a series on your TBR shelf.
4. An “out of your comfort zone” book on le TBR shelf!
5. A book from your most recent book haul!

I’m thinking about doing the #AYEARATHON first and then do #TBRTakedown Readathon later in the week, if I have time. I haven’t decided what I want to read for the #TBRTakedown Readathon yet. Decisions, decisions…

Synopsis: Ryan Dean West is known as “Winger,” the position he plays on his school’s rugby team. He’s a 14-year-old boy starting his junior year at Pine Mountain, a boarding school in Oregon. He begins the school year living in Opportunity Hall with one of his rugby teammates, Chas, who is one of the school’s biggest bullies. They can’t stand each other. Things get worse when Chas’ girlfriend falls in love with Ryan Dean, but there are worse things that happen.

Ryan Dean falls in love with his best friend, Annie, who is two years older than him. One of his friends, who is the same age as Annie, also develops feelings for her and it causes problems in his friendship with Ryan Dean. Then he ends up becoming friends with someone who is gay. High school is bad enough, but having a gay friend brought on its own new set of problems.

All of the things he’s going through makes him feel like he’s a “loser.” The phrase, “I am a loser,” is mentioned several times throughout the book.

Thoughts: Winger is a great coming of age story that many high school students can relate to. He experiences so many things at such a young age and ends up becoming a better person because of it. He also owns up to his own mistakes (like saying stupid things and getting into unnecessary fights), which takes a lot of courage because a lot of people don’t like to admit they were wrong about something.

The characters had so much depth to them, even the bullies, like Chas and Casey Palmer. They all had insecurities that made them human. Andrew Smith included a good mix of characters in this book. Although the book focuses on Ryan Dean and his peers, we also saw a glimpse into adult life, thanks to characters like Annie’s parents, Mr. Wellins, and a couple of awful hall directors. Life isn’t always pretty, even as an adult.

I’ve read some awesome books so far this year, and this was one of the best.

IT’S OVER! I seriously wish I had more time to read. I managed to read 329 pages, which wasn’t bad for my first 24 hour read-a-thon, but I had things going on during the day. I couldn’t skip out of work, obviously. I think I’ve only read about a total of 5-ish hours because I had a hard time waking up at 8 a.m. and couldn’t read too much at work. Plus, driving takes up quite a bit of valuable reading time.

Things to do for my next read-a-thon:

Managing my time. I didn’t set my alarm until 8:25, which meant that I lost 25 minutes of reading time. Plus, I also went back to sleep after reading a few pages, which meant I lost another hour and a half. If I had woken up on time, I would’ve gotten more reading done before work.

Adding short stories to the mix. This would help with getting more books off my TBR list and keep me from getting bored with a book.

Eating healthier snacks. I had a croissant and brie for lunch and a sandwich for dinner, but I could have thrown in some fruits. The strawberries I bought a week or two ago are still sitting in my fridge.

Still, I had a fun time doing it though, and it was fun reading everyone’s updates and seeing the #readathon hashtag trending on twitter.

You know what makes me happy? Thinking of how 1700+ people all got together at the same time to devote an entire day to reading. #readathon

Which hour was most daunting for you? The 1st & 18th hours because I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, The Book Thief by Marcus Zuszak, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

How many books did you read? The second half of Let It Snow and the first half of Confessions of a Shopaholic. Technically, I didn’t start and finish a book during the read-a-thon.

What were the names of the books you read? Let It Snow & Confessions of a Shopaholic

Which book did you enjoy most? Confessions of a Shopaholic

Which did you enjoy least? Let It Snow. Overall, it was just ok. Nothing great.

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I wasn’t a cheerleader.

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Oh I’ll definitely be back again in October, and I’ll probably just be sticking to reading and updating my blog.

This hour of the readathon (Hour 11) is hosted by Camilla, and she’s asking us what books will become classics in 100 years.

The books have to be written in English and published after 1990.

1. The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling

This book has shaped so many lives, including adults, and it sparked worldwide interest in children’s literature and reading overall.

2. “The Fault In Our Stars” by John Green

TFIOS is a great book that focuses on love, friendship and life lessons. The moral of the book is that you have to live each day to the fullest because you might not know when it’ll be your last.

3. “The Book Thief” by Marcus Zuszak

It’s a book that takes place during WWII in Nazi Germany, and it shows that love conquers all. Evil people may treat you like you’re nothing, but the important people in your life will give you something to live for. This is the best book I’ve read so far this year.

Mid-Event Survey:1. What are you reading right now?Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella2. How many books have you read so far? 13. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Probably the one I’m reading now. I don’t know if I’ll have time to get to a third book.4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? A lot. They’re interruptions like driving to the gym, going to a French festival with mom, driving to work, working, etc. I had to take them all in stride, especially the work part, because I still had to exercise, eat, and of course, avoid getting fired from work.5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? The time goes by so quickly.